Gov’t urged to consult communities on Songor salt

The government has been urged to consult the communities in and around the Songor Lagoon for any development project regarding the Ada Songor Salt project.

Mary Akutei, the President of the Ada Songor Salt Women Association (ASSWA), who made the call said: “It is prudent to consult the community members on any development programme, and that government’s inability to help them make the most out of their mineral resource is having a negative impact on the communities.”

Madam Akutei was speaking at a forum organised by the ASSWA at Sege in the Greater Accra Region on the theme: “Songor for All.”

She said salt winning is the only means of livelihood for the people during the dry season as the community is unable to farm during this time,“It is rather unfortunate that today the Songor Lagoon is no longer playing that role due to government policies.We have the right to protect our natural resources.”

Mr Albert Apetorgbor, an opinion leader and an advocate of the Songor project said that since the Songor Lagoon was discovered by the Cubans as a rich natural resource area in the country, there had been various attempts to sideline the indigenes.

He proposed that government should fund the development of the Lagoon after which concessions should be given to the indigenes and any multinational.